


Some Universal Truth

by whocriedbadwolf



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: AU, Alternate Ending, Episode: s04e13 Journey's End, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-29
Updated: 2013-03-31
Packaged: 2017-12-06 20:29:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/739847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whocriedbadwolf/pseuds/whocriedbadwolf
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The stars are going out and it's up to the Doctor and his companions to put an end to Davros' plans and save not just their universe, but every universe.  No matter who wins, nothing will ever be the same again.</p><p>An Alternate Ending to 'Journey's End' in which the metacrisis never happened, Donna didn't have to lose her memory, all of the companions get their chance to shine, and once again Rose Tyler proved to do the impossible.  (Please note: in no way do I disapprove of canon events, this was merely something that I've been developing.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Universe

**Author's Note:**

> The first couple chapters are a minor rehashing of what happened in the episodes but with important variations that guide the story. Please leave feedback!

It went without saying that the universe worked in strange and, at times, unforgiving ways. Nobody knew that better than the Doctor, and as he'd watched the love of his life falling towards the void, he figured another fact out; the universe didn't care. He spent his life traveling and saving as many lives as possible just for the simple fact that he couldn't stand to sit back and watch while people died and even after all of that, she'd been taken from him. Any other Time Lord would have written it off as a necessary loss, but there was a reason the Doctor was always the rebellious child on his home planet.

Adventure after adventure with other companions, Martha whom he never quite understood as to why she fancied him when he was just a damaged mad man in a blue box with both hearts torn to bits and Donna...his best friend, his mate, his sister. All of that though, those few years that he spent with them were precious, they were what saved his life after he'd lost Rose and now suddenly...

She was there. Rose Tyler stood at the other end of the street that was battle seasoned and cluttered with wreckage that was merely a prelude of what was to come. But she was there. Rose was right there and the Doctor's eyes widened, his chest tightening with the hope that he dared to have. His blonde companion smiled brightly and began to run towards him as he gathered up all of his adrenaline and invested it into sprinting to his love, his once lost love. If the universes were going to be in danger of ending, she would know how he felt about her.

They'd been so close, oh so very close...but the universe _didn't care_.

Within the shadows, the Dalek emerged only when it had a clear shot and Rose's instincts were all that caused her to halt in her tracks and look to the right. She and the menacing Dalek both aimed and fired at the same time; both shots hit their mark. While the enemy exploded from the force of Rose's gun, the valiant child felt pain surge through her as if she'd been struck by lightning and thrown into a fire. So much pain, so much pain that it coursed through her veins practically and her body hit the concrete with an agonizing thud, her gun clattering beside her.

“ROSE!” The Doctor's smile dropped instantly and horror filled his expression. His voice broke and tears already welled in his eyes. He'd seen everything, right before him she'd been shot by the same evil that had taken everything from him. The Time Lord picked up pace and within barley moments, he'd reached her and knelt in order to gather her in his arms. The Doctor cradled her in a way that was just close enough to convey his need for her but loose enough to not further pain her or so he hoped. “Rose, please...Rose, I'm begging you. You have to stay with me, I can't watch you die. I can't _let_ you die, not as long as I live Rose Tyler, I _won't_ let you die.” It didn't matter that the situation might have seemed hopeless to some, giving up wasn't an option with Rose's life on the line and he'd search the ends of the universe to find a way to save her.

Captain Jack Harkness appeared just a moment to late to have stopped the Dalek but when his eyes met Rose's form crumpled as the Doctor held her, he ran towards them both in an effort to help. He'd meant it that she was worth fighting for and she always would be.

“Doctor,” Rose managed to rasp. She was barely breathing and her heart was sluggish. In all honesty there was no explanation for her even being alive so her condition was actually amazing. “I think the-the Dalek...was weakened...” Every word was quiet, weak, so very much unlike the Doctor's pink and yellow Rose.

“Sh, don't strain yourself...” The Doctor urged her, leaning down to brush a kiss against her forehead as he repressed his tears uselessly. They spilled over all the same and his form shook with unheard sobs. It didn't matter that Jack was there to see him slowly breaking, there wasn't a way to bury his emotions this time around with the girl that held his hearts dying in his arms. “Please, don't leave me Rose...Not now, not when I've just got you back.”

A wave of indescribable physical pain washed over her and Rose couldn't help but cry out from it, despite her best efforts to keep herself composed for his benefit. Her Doctor's dark eyes widened at the sound and she knew he loathed the fact that she was suffering even a little. It was no wonder she loved him, even if he could never see it; he was a noble man that saved lives and universes and she loved him with all of her heart...her heart that was beating so rapidly that it was literally agonizing. “D-Doctor...!” Another dose of the same burning within and her jaw was tight. Now her head was pounding and the sensation was so familiar, yet she couldn't place it. The warmth of her love's arms and the cold concrete flooded her senses and the tears streaming down her face didn't help matters. She inwardly cursed herself for all of this. There was someone screaming at her though and it certainly wasn't her voice. Something within her head was shrieking an order over and over, so shrill and loud that it took her a moment to understand before she could relay it to the Doctor. “The TARDIS,” her voice shook in the plea, “take me to the TARDIS...” At that point, she was shivering as if she'd been submersed in ice water.

Captain Jack looked to the Time Lord expectantly and nodded. Of course, the TARDIS. The Doctor may have been unaware of the inner battle of thought that Rose was facing but taking her to the TARDIS made sense; there was a medical bay and he could try to save her life himself with a little help from Donna and the Captain. For once maybe he'd live up to the title he'd chosen himself all those centuries ago on Gallifrey. There had to be a way to save her, especially if she'd held out this long. She was so incredible, so strong, so very human and he-

“I missed you...” he picked her up bridal style as if she weighed nothing, his determination to keep her heart beating far stronger than his body. “I missed you so much, Rose...” In all reality, he'd been missing a part of himself with her gone. Looking back at the way Martha must have felt and how Donna had practically dragged him out of his depression kicking and screaming...he hadn't deserved the kindness they'd shown but his companions were always the best. No matter how they claimed to have learned from him, he was the student and every being that traveled with him taught him more and more. Martha taught him how to believe, Donna taught him how to smile again, and Rose had taught him how to love after the tragedy of the Time War. He'd be damned if any of those people were going to lose their lives because of him.

Once they were inside the TARDIS with the other two following closely behind, the Doctor carried Rose to a small sub-room located just past the console area. It was hardly used and immaculately clean, so he set the blonde down on the examination table and began by removing her dark blue leather jacket before readying an IV to hook her up to. Had the situation not been so dire, one of the others might have made a joke about the Doctor actually being a doctor.

Captain Jack, determination flaring in his eyes, stood just next to the Doctor by the table in case his assistance was needed but was mindful to stay out of the way as well. Rose had been the one that had given him immortality. While he didn't know how to feel about or accept the fact that he'd never die, he didn't blame Rose, he still cared deeply for her.

Donna was never wont to sit back and let the world shut her up. Seeing the frantic way the Doctor moved, Donna stepped forward and gave her best friend a stern look that held as much comfort as possible. “Doctor, what can I do t' help?” she questioned strongly. He didn't have to do it all alone, not at that point, and the ginger woman knew that the world needed Rose...so did the Doctor.

He didn't protest to the help from his companion but his racing thoughts had to formulate a possible way that she could assist him because in all honesty he wasn't sure what he was doing as he did it, just that it needed done. His mind had an autopilot setting and at that point it was just focused in the task of stabilizing Rose's vital signs. “Uh...ah...” The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair, “ah! Here, place these patches on her arms near the pulse points.” He handed her the supplies that she'd need and he began to do the same at her neck's pulse points. He could feel Jack's eyes on him and he looked over just as the other man was about to ask what he could do as well.

“Jack, I need you to keep your eyes on the monitors and let me know when those red lights turn green, only green. If they turn yellow, it's not finished yet, if they turn blue, tell me immediately because that means that something is wrong. Got that?” Jack nodded in return with ease before taking on his simple task. It was understandable that the Doctor wanted to handle much of this on his own because he wanted to see to it that not a single mistake was made and if you wanted things done right as the old saying went, it was best to do them yourself.

Rose's breathing had become erratic and her heartbeat followed, causing the heart monitor that they'd hooked up to go wild almost in protest. The blonde cried out again and one of her hands moved to her head, pulling at her hair. “...'M head...'s _killin'_ me,” she muttered through clenched teeth. She began to move her legs back and forth.

Jack turned his head quickly with wide eyes to the Doctor. “Blue...blue!” he called over the ever-increasing volume of the monitors around them.

Even through all of the chaos around them, realization came over the Doctor and his blood ran cold at the thought of what could be happening. It was only a hunch but the more he thought about it and remembered, the more he recalled that look, that phrase... His voice was a murmur in the noise.

“The Bad Wolf.”


	2. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The return of the Bad Wolf, Davros' plan revealed, and the true power of the Doctor and his companions. His friends have always been the best of him and there's a good reason for that. Just what will this mean for them all, though?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More deviation from 'Journey's End', the next chapters are going to be less of a rehashing and more original work, I promise. Please comment!

_“The Bad Wolf.”_

The words fell off of the Doctor's lips like a prayer and he found himself reaching over and cupping Rose's face in attempts to look into her mind and confirm or deny his suspicions. He closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to her temple only to take his hand back a moment later as if he'd touched a hot stove. “You two, stand back,” he ordered Donna and Jack sternly, no room for argument in his tone. They did as he asked just out of the sheer fact that he almost looked scared and with good reason. The last time Rose had been the 'Bad Wolf', she'd managed to destroy an entire Dalek fleet and make Jack immortal. Last time though, the Doctor had been able to save her but he wasn't sure of his abilities to do that anymore and it would most definitely mean he'd regenerate. They couldn't afford that in the middle of a battle and he ran through the other options that they had.

When Rose's eyes snapped open and threw off a bright, golden light, he knew that he didn't have time to think. His hearts sank in his chest when he realized what he'd have to do in order to preserve her life; he'd have to erase her memory of him. It would be as if he never existed, but at least she'd be alive and that was what mattered. Once more, he reached his hands forward in attempts to press his fingers to her head only to be stopped by Rose's own hands taking hold of his wrists in protest.

“Rose, you have to listen to me, that power is going to kill you if you don't let me do this. Please, you have to fight the hold it has over you, this is different than last time.” His voice trembled and he shook his head. “Rose, you'll burn if you don't let me help you, I'm _begging_ you.” The Doctor's gaze was dark but concerned. One way or another, fate was determined to take her away from him and it wasn't fair or kind but that was just how his life worked it would seem. Donna had since backed up a few paces with brows furrowed and her heart pounding. Rose had spoke those words to her, 'Bad Wolf' but the meaning was lost to her.

The blonde companion shook her head slowly, the brilliant light still shining from her eyes. “ _Get back_ ,” she uttered simply, never taking her eyes off of the Doctor as she pushed him back with a gentle force by the hold she had on his wrists. Jack stepped back when the Time Lord staggered slightly in order to help him if need be in keeping his balance. With them all deemed far enough away by the voice within her mind, Rose sat up on the examination table before standing. “ _I create myself...My Doctor, you cannot remove me, you cannot banish me. This vessel will not perish under my watch and you will not suffer further. I've looked into her heart and she into mine and we are one in the same. She will live on._ ” Every word echoed with power, the same that she'd had on Satellite Five. Rose tilted her head back slowly and stretched her arms out and a moment later, the same glow that illuminated from her eyes shot from her arms, her legs, and engulfed her head from the neck up. The only one in the room that would have recognized the process was the Doctor himself.

Seeing it, the Time Lord nearly fell to his knees. “That's impossible,” he whispered, “that can't happen, that's never happened, that's-” his lips tried to tug into a smile but he refrained, “that might be _wonderful_...”

The others shielded their eyes as the light filled the room and it lasted no more than fifteen seconds before it vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. What was left in its wake was Rose Tyler, just a bit different than she'd been before. Her blonde locks were longer, reaching midway down her back with a light curl to their ends. She looked to have aged just a year or so in the face and her once honey-colored eyes were lighter, more like the gold that had enveloped her just moments before. She was still Rose Tyler though, his Rose, and when it had passed and she nearly let her knees buckle beneath her, the Doctor moved forward and caught her in his arms carefully.

“You never cease to amaze me,” he murmured against her hair, holding her to him as closely as possible. From what he could tell, Rose had _regenerated_ , something that had never happened to a human being before. When she'd looked into the heart of the TARDIS all of that time ago, he was under the impression that he'd gotten rid of the Vortex Energy but a part of her had held on to just enough to produce the miracle before him. She was alive and although it was no more than a hypothesis at that point, from what he could see could have a prolonged life in more ways than one. There was much to think about with that but for the time being they had an enemy to stop, universes to save.

“...Doctor,” the blonde in his arms spoke up, her voice once more her own instead of the near goddess that had taken control of her before. “I don't understand, I feel different. There's no...'s no pain anymore.” All of the previous burning and intense aching was gone and what replaced it was a warmth, pleasant and comforting. Rose looked up tiredly into his eyes and was met with the Doctor's brown eyes brimming with unshed tears. There was a smile on his face though and he was crying with joy for the first time in what must have been centuries. That look alone was enough to make her smile, albeit a little weakly.

“You're alive...I'll explain everything after this is over, I promise.” He moved to help her stand fully again and had her check her footing to make sure she could stand on her own. When it seemed that she wasn't in the same state as a Time Lord would have been in after regeneration, it was counted in his mind as another miracle; the universes strange way of making some things work out wonderfully. He didn't get many of those and in fact he could count them on one hand still but damn if he wasn't grateful.

Donna and Jack rushed towards their friend and ally, practically shoving the Doctor out of the way in the process, and each of them marveled at her strength. “My God,” Donna commented, “well, 's no wonder dumbo over there missed ya so much, you're bloody _amazing!_ Ha!” There was a joyous excitement in her voice that her best mate hadn't lost this girl to death. “I don't have a clue about what just happened to you, but you're alive! Full o' surprises, you are, Rosie girl.”

Rose smiled humbly and stared at her hands momentarily before she was embraced by Jack. “You're one hell of a woman, Rose Tyler. After this is all said and done, I think I just might give the Doc a run for his money.” Rose laughed and rolled her eyes but returned the hug regardless of it.

“Stop it,” the Time Lord insisted.  It had become a catchphrase practically when it came to the Doctor and Jack. Ever since his last regeneration, there had been this underlying tension that was usually dulled down to playful competition for Rose's attention but they were all close and cared about each other in the end. Truth be told, Donna looked at the two hugging and her eyes wandered over Captain Jack then met the Doctor's gaze.

“Wha's the matter, space man, afraid of the Captain showin' ya up?” The red-head grinned and the man in question only rolled his eyes and shook his head.

It was the calm before the storm it would seem. They were all too consumed with the joy of Rose having lived to notice that just outside the TARDIS, the Daleks had placed teleportation devices so that they'd all be paying a visit the Dalek ship.

“C'mon then, we've a couple universes to save from certain destruction and I'm not a gambling man but I'm feeling lucky!” The Doctor laughed out loud and moved to the console once more, setting the coordinates. “Off we are then, Rose, Donna, Jack, Allons-y!”

He pulled the lever but when it began to shift oddly and beyond his control, the three of them were thrown to the ground and forced to hold on to the safety railing to prevent injury. They were ordered out of the TARDIS once they'd apparently reached their destination. Coming face-to-face (what was left of his face) to Davros wasn't something the Doctor ever thought he'd have to endure again but what was worse was hearing the TARDIS door slam behind him...and seeing that Rose was still inside.

Despite the Doctor's demands for her to be released, the enemy claimed that it wasn't their doing and it had been 'Time Lord Treachery'. Rose was no safer in the ship than she would have been right in front of the creator of the Daleks and what was worse was that she was in greater danger at that point.

Inside the blue box, Rose felt as though she was in an elevator that had just had the cord snapped as the TARDIS fell to what would be its ultimate death. She only vaguely heard the Doctor screaming, _pleading_ , but then he was out of range and she was alone and all around her was burning. Smoke filled her lungs and things looked grim...until she touched the console of the ship.

A line of communication opened up between them and that same voice that had been so shrill when she'd been dying filled her head again, this time speaking soothingly and quickly, telling her exactly what to do in order to save herself and the ship. It was as if the ship itself was speaking to Rose and perhaps it was but the blonde's movements were beyond her control as she pressed a few buttons and pulled a lever, the ship vanishing from the fire just in time.

“Bring her _**back**_!” came the Doctor's demand once again. Donna had moved forward and held his hand when the ship was sinking into the fire and by that time, Captain Jack had been hauled off and probably was already back from the dead and formulating a plan. Just when it looked as though it couldn't get worse, Martha and Jack (speak of the devil) appeared on screens before him and Donna. Each of them had a threat against Davros and the Daleks but neither was a plan that the Doctor supported. Even with the threat of the universe being destroyed, killing innocent to save the entire situation was unacceptable. With a flash, the companions were gathered and imprisoned in the room. The guilt sunk in with Davros' words when he realized that he did in fact fashion his companions into soldiers and weapons but when when the TARDIS started to materialize nothing else mattered.

Out of the bright light that shone from the ship, Rose appeared with no weapon at all but her eyes were ablaze with gold again. Despite the attempt made by the Dalek creator to kill her, she was only thrown back. That alone was enough to startle the Doctor though and he couldn't even run towards her with his holding cell around him. All of the companions were gathered but the world looked bleak at that point.

Donna's holding cell was the first to be released and Rose popped her head up with a smirk on her lips, tugging the redhead down and beginning to press buttons and switches. Davros was outraged and ordered their extermination but Rose nodded towards a series of buttons and touched her finger to Donna's temple, conveying what needed done. The two of them had the Daleks reduced to nothing more than malfunctioning pepper pots with their inability to fire and their spinning.

When the other holding cells were released, they all gathered around the control panel and faced the enemy head on. Since that simple touch from Rose, Donna was running on her own wit and skill. The others marveled at her and she grinned. “Didn't I ever tell ya? Best temp in Chiswick, one-hundred words a minute!” She wiggled her fingers for emphasis and Rose laughed happily, letting her newly found friend take care of that task as she began to help Sarah Jane in pushing the Daleks out of the way. Captain Jack and Mickey with guns readied took out the head Dalek and the Doctor ran into the TARDIS to begin sending the planets back where they belonged.


	3. This is Goodbye

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the battle won and every universe saved, there are still choices to be made for the Doctor's companions. Their lives are forever intertwined with the Doctor but what course of action is there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's where it all begins to differentiate from the canon events~ It's a transition chapter so it's rather short but I promise the next ones will be longer. Happy Easter! Please comment~!

It had been a long and hazardous battle with Davros and the Daleks, but in the end the reality bomb was stopped with the help of the Doctor's companions. Every one of them played a part in saving their worlds and to witness it restored all faith that the Time Lord had in life itself. Donna managed to disable the bomb while the others worked out a plan to stop the Daleks as a whole. There wasn't much time to think on it and even though it wasn't the ideal course of action for moral purposes, the final verdict was to decimate the Dalek fleet altogether. Another genocide that the Doctor would add to his list alone, as the others were human and he might have had the power to find another solution had he the time to look for one. The blood was on his hands once more and he'd carry that weight with him along with that of his home planet, his entire race and every other death he'd been the cause of. All of that made for heavy shoulders but that was why he had those that he traveled with; to just for a little while, forget about that guilt and live because if there was anything he'd learned from the last years traveling it was that everything had a purpose, a reason, and sometimes all a person could do was accept that.

The entire team took part in flying the TARDIS back, towing the Earth back along where it belonged. Once everything was set back in place, fixed and restored as it should have been, Rose took the Doctor's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The pain in his eyes was clear and looking at the marvel of a woman before him at least rid the fog from his mind enough for him to offer a smile.

“I know it wasn't what you wanted,” she tried to comfort him, “none of us wanted that, but think of it this way; it wasn't done out of anger or hatred or vengeance. That's not an excuse but it's a reason and at the very least we can take solace from that, yeah?” Rose knew better than most how much the Doctor hated killing. It was the reason he didn't carry a gun, only a sonic screwdriver that didn't kill, maim, harm...not directly. Placing the blame on himself wasn't even completely accurate in Rose's opinion but the Doctor would always argue otherwise.

“I know,” his voice was low and he kept his eyes on the ground for a long moment. His fingers intertwined with hers and they did so perfectly because that was the way they were meant to be. “I've got a long record of things I didn't want but I caused, it never gets much easier, really.” The Doctor sighed and shook his head. “I suppose though I can't linger on it, what good will that do?” The last time he'd lingered too much on something, Martha had suffered living in the shadow of what he'd been trying to recapture while mourning Rose. He'd been blind to her affections and she'd looked after him even when he'd not come close to deserving it. His purpose was to keep moving forward though and for that reason, he was still anxious about Rose's return because by all rights, it should have been impossible. Only the near-end of the universe brought it on but the threat was gone so what was left to be sorted? Could he really be allowed to stay with her instead of moving on over and over? Should he be allowed such happiness after all he'd done in his life?

Only time would tell that.

As for the others, it was time for them to take their leave. Sarah Jane returned to her son in order to continue with her life, living it to the fullest with her own adventures. Mickey, his purpose done within the parallel world after his Gran's death, Jack and Martha all left in unison to do whatever they damn well pleased, though knowing Jack, it would be a nice drink and plenty of flirting. The Doctor said goodbye to each of them one by one and Donna was dropped off next.

The ginger poked the Time Lord in the chest as she spoke. “Listen here, alien boy, I'm goin' to 'ave a chat and a few days holiday with my family and you best show up to dinner when I call, 'ave ya got that?” Of course he agreed and rubbed the spot she'd been poking on his chest before hugging her and getting back into the TARDIS. All that remained were the Tyler women and himself then and he knew he had to return to the parallel universe. It was time for choices to be made. Little did he know, Rose had already long since made her choice even before she'd seen him.

The ship's engines ground to a halt and the three knew that they'd landed. “We haven't got much time here,” the Doctor spoke up, heading for the doors with the two women following behind, “the door back to the other universe will be closing in about five minutes.” His chest burned with the thought of last time he'd been rushed to say goodbye on Bad Wolf Bay and when his feet hit the sands of the beach, emotion welled in his throat.

Rose and Jackie stepped out of the TARDIS and stood a few feet away from the Time Lord. Rose's back was to the Doctor and she faced her mum, the salty air filling her lungs, not helping her task ahead. The younger blonde ran her fingers through her hair before moving forward and wrapping her arms around her mother. Her slight change in appearance gave her mother the feeling of literally watching her grow up right before her and both of them had tears in their eyes by the time they pulled away from the embrace.

“You don't even have the time to explain what 'appened to you...you look different and I don't know why. You look beautiful,” Jackie told her only daughter, her oldest child now that Tony had come into the picture. She and Pete were so incredibly happy with both of their children but they both knew that Rose's place was with the man she loved and if both of them had gotten a second chance at it, it was only fair that Rose had the right to be happy with the Doctor. That didn't stop tears from rolling down Jackie's face.

“Oh, mum...” Rose's vision was clouded with tears as well. “You do too, ya do...” She'd always thought her mother was the most beautiful woman in the world, of course that was common with mothers and daughters. Much the same, her dad was the greatest man she'd ever known, but there came a time when the child had to leave. Usually it just wasn't so permanent. “I love you, alright?” Rose took her mum by the shoulders and kissed her cheek. “I promise, I'll 'ave him tinker with my phone and see if we can make contact again. 'S not like I 'aven't done the impossible before.”

Jackie nodded once, knowing better than to rely on that. Her faith in her daughter was infinite but there were some things even the Doctor couldn't do. “I love you too, sweetheart. You take care of yourself, understand? I don't know where you got this urge to save the universe but I don't think it was from me, must be your father, that loon.” Jackie never gave herself enough credit, even if she'd been on that same battlefield and had been fighting the Daleks as well. She wiped her eyes and moved to stand in front of the Doctor with her arms folded and her glance strict. The Time Lord cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Right, the gateway will be closing any minute-”

“Listen here, mate,” Jackie's voice was stern, “you better take good care of her because she bloody well took good care of you, stickin' around even after you got that pretty-boy face of yours. A mother knows, and if you so much as make her shed one tear, I'll rip the universe apart just to smack ya one, have you got that?”

The Doctor blinked a few times before nodding wordlessly. The two of them shared a glance that conveyed a mixture of messages and emotions before they each went in for a hug. They'd had their share of differences over the years but they had one thing in common; they both cared for Rose with all of their hearts. “I'll protect her, Jackie. I promise you, I'll protect her with my life.” It was a promise that would be kept, too. He'd lost her too many times to break it. He pulled back and let her go, tracing his fingers over each side of his chest in two 'x's. “Cross my hearts.” The corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk and the blonde woman shook her head with a smile that told him how hopeless he really was.

“I guess all and all you've been a good man.” She folded her arms before leaning up to kiss his cheek, to which he grimaced playfully. “Would make a good son, too. I don't care if you are ancient, you're just a kid.” That managed to get a small blush out of him and his eyes flashed to Rose before going back to Jackie.

“Right then, we best be off,” he spoke the word 'we' as if he were still surprised he was saying it and that Rose was choosing to go with him. “Rose.” He nodded once and gave Jackie one last wave before heading back to the ship.

“Goodbye, mum. Tell dad and Tony I love 'em. Hell, tell everyone at Torchwood I said thanks.” Giving her mother one last kiss on the forehead, she was off and she waved back much like the Doctor had just moments before. Her hand pushed the door of the TARDIS open and she stepped inside, closing it behind her. The ship's engines hummed in approval of the girl she'd known before once more where she belonged and perhaps it had been Rose's connection with the TARDIS that had saved her in the first place. The most beautiful ship in the universe, she was.


End file.
